A peer-to-peer discussion with the Josef and Margot Lakonishok Professor in Business and Dean of Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

🎙️ In Episode 86 of the Dean’s Counsel podcast, panelists Ken Kring and Dave Ikenberry are joined by Dean Brooke Elliott for a thought-provoking conversation on driving large-scale institutional change. Elliott provides a detailed look at how Gies has moved beyond traditional boundaries to manage an online ecosystem that now serves over 7,000 students.

Throughout the conversation, Dean Elliott discusses the personal and professional challenges of leading a premier institution through simultaneous periods of transition and external volatility.

“I mean, there was a change management process going on because I was coming in as dean and still shaping my team, I felt like we were in crisis management mode, and at the same time, we were still driving forward and innovating.” — Brooke Elliott

The dialogue explores the sophisticated revenue and yield management strategies required to navigate shifting international student enrollments. When faced with global headwinds, Elliott emphasizes the necessity of institutional agility:

Beyond financial modeling, the episode focuses on the future of the accounting profession in the age of Artificial Intelligence. Dean Elliott shares her bullish outlook on how AI will reshape, rather than replace, the field, noting that while the demand for talent remains high, the baseline technical expectations for graduates have fundamentally evolved.

“And I think the expectation in terms of what students will be able to do whenever they show up day one is different.” — Brooke Elliott

This episode is an essential resource for academic leaders seeking to balance crisis management with long-term innovation while expanding access to high-quality business education.

Listen to the full conversation here:

Photos courtesy of Gies

Learn more about Brooke Elliott here.